Connecticut added 2,100 jobs in August, a 0.1% uptick to a level of approximately 1.7 million, according to data from the state”™s Department of Labor. The preliminary July 2023 gain of 2,900 (0.2%) positions was lowered to a 1,900 (0.1%) job increase.
The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%, a post-Covid-low, and Connecticut has recovered 98.5% (284,900) of the 289,100 nonagricultural jobs lost during the March-April 2020 pandemic lockdown.
“Two months of steady job growth in a wide range of industries suggests Connecticut is heading toward a balanced path after the turmoil caused by the pandemic,” said Patrick Flaherty, director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor. “The private sector has more than fully recovered from pandemic losses with construction employment at its highest level in nearly 15 years.”
Connecticut’s private sector employment gained 2,200 (0.2%) jobs in August 2023 to 1.46 million and is higher by 18,300 positions (1.3%) from the August 2022 level. The government supersector was slightly lower (-100, -0.04%) last month to a level of 230,800 jobs ”“ it is also 2,900 positions (1.3%) higher than year-ago levels.
Within Fairfield County, the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk corridor gained 1,400 positions while the Greater Danbury area was unchanged from the previous month.
